My point in addressing her observation speaks more to how we subliminally endorse particular cultures while relegating aspects of “other” cultures to specific times and places were they are seen as more appropriate. No more is this idea more present than the recent “viralness” of Atlanta elementary educator Patrice Brown, more widely known as #TeacherBae. Unfortunately, when we continue to measure aesthetic standards through Eurocentric notions of beauty, appropriateness, and professionalism, we are approving of a culture that has insidiously taught us, as minorities, to hate ourselves. We have witnessed these double standards through dozens of social-media CEOs, like Mark Zuckerberg, who come to their offices and delegate while wearing slippers. The “post-modern Mad Men” social entrepreneurs have re-molded a generation’s idea of what professionalism, at least in terms of aesthetics, means. But, in education, it seems as though we are still far behind. So far conservative, that simply wearing a dress that is fit to a female’s body renders a reprimand by said person’s school board. The outburst of #teacherbae demonstrates how particular bodies are always judged, discriminated upon, and/or sexualized. Propagating that this type of policing is okay leaves us with people, like Steve Harvey and “educator” Dr. Steve Perry, who think that cutting dreads off of young black boys will lead to their success. It is a message that omits the foul idea to young black boys and girls that, “your look is just not good enough, in order to succeed you need to change yourself.”

That is why, when my young student remarked that I looked like a teenager, I couldn’t let it slide. Drawing attention to how Power plays a role in our ideals of professionalism and aesthetics are interwoven is a much needed topic to be discussed in schools and classrooms. There is no sole right answer to “Appropriateness,” especially in terms of dress, mannerisms, and behavior. But the wrong answer is spreading an idea that leaves young black boys and girls feeling that they need to splinter their authenticity between two equally important places (school and home) and leave a part of themselves behind as they step into the classroom.

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How a teacher is supposed to look is the bigger question here. And more importantly, who gets to decide what the “norm” is? If you feel comfortable wearing a dress shirt and tie when you go out there and teach, by all means go right ahead. But there is also nothing wrong with wearing a pair of jeans and some Air Jordan’s to work in my opinion either. Remember, the things you teach students are not solely derived from the curriculum you deliver. Your presence in the classroom, and the way you dress also serves as a learning lesson to your students.

Teaching requires an understanding that the school is a microcosm of the real world. And eventually your students are going to graduate and base their decisions (in terms of careers, etc.) off of what they explicitly and implicitly learned from the schools they went to. When a teacher walks into a classroom wearing a t-shirt and jeans, they are re-establishing our current notions of professionalism. In many urban areas, part of the reason why there is such a disconnect between students and teachers is due to the perceptual difference. Students sometimes disengage with schooling because the teachers they are learning from sound and look nothing like them. I am not suggesting that all teachers go out and dress like teenagers. Far from it. I am saying, be comfortable with what you wear to school because “dressing the part” also ties into a systemic realism created from those in privileged positions.

A teacher’s goal is to open possibilities for students. Part of an opening of possibility can be created when teachers break down the current and limited views of success and “professionalism”. Validating voices, appearances, and bodies that have been on the margins by society will be more easily achieved when we open up the idea of professional attire and trouble our current stereotypes. There are certainly things that a teacher should never wear to work (belly tops, ripped jeans, etc.). But there is no definite model that all teachers should adhere to. So when you tell a new teacher to dress the part, be mindful of what you are insinuating and what you are saying about particular cultures.

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It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that every teacher teaches with the “burden” of getting through curriculum. It also wouldn’t be a stretch to argue that the curriculum currently prescribed cannot be adequately covered in 10 months of school. Teachers adapt by skimming over parts of the common core and going deeper into others, teaching topics that they have a passion for, and being flexible to students’ needs. But unfortunately, when that end of the month (or curriculum unit) comes, it usually signifies test time and we move onto the next “strand”. Under the pressure to cover curriculum, we move on whether students “get it” or not. And we do this primarily because we have to write a report card at the end of the term or year. We have to show proof of what we did with our students.

I asked several teachers how not writing a report card would change their practice. Some pointed out that they would slow down and teach according to student needs (what a novel idea!). Others suggested that they would, “teach what they wanted to teach and not what the curriculum dictated as important”. While this idea has the damaging potential to re-create provisional self-esteem and privileges the teacher once again in the power dynamic of the classroom space, teachers who are engaged with the material would also exponentially benefit student learning.

No report cards would change my classroom immensely. It would afford the opportunity to truly co-create an educational environment where kids would enact agency in their learning. We could establish relevance and engagement in a way that goes beyond what any burdensome report card produces. No report cards – fine, we can introduce peer reviews and grading, that way the teacher is not the sole authoritative figure dolling out some final piece a paper that is supposed to mark their idea of how they think a kid did throughout the school year.

If used correctly, a final pass/fail letter could be a great move. Our current system is intrinsically flawed anyways. So despite the political maneuvers between government and teachers’ unions, below the surface this “no report card thing” marks a tremendous opportunity to re-examine the paradigm of education and how we demarcate student success. Not having a traditional report card is unfortunate for the children who are programmed to base their academic validity on a letter grade or a percentage. But despite its shortcomings, it is also a unique opportunity to explore how the politics of accountability and traditional forms of professionalism impact how teachers teach.

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